Ok. I think I get it and sorry for not reading it like that. In a sense
that is also a requirement on the web services architecture work group that
the web services should be able to support references. For example, if I am
not wrong, I think XMLP does not address specifying object references and
how they can be passed back. Would the underlying protocols have to support
passing objects by reference before a description language can express it
properly?
_______________________________________________
Waqar Sadiq
EDS EIT EASI - Enterprise Consultant
MS: H3-4C-22
5400 Legacy Drive
Plano, Texas 75024
phone: +01-972-797-8408 (8-837)
e-mail: waqar.sadiq@eds.com
fax: +01-972-605-4071
_______________________________________________
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Prescod [mailto:paul@prescod.net]
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2002 10:44 AM
To: www-ws-desc@w3.org
Subject: Re: WSDL Requirements
"Sadiq, Waqar" wrote:
>
> Paul,
>
> I am having a hard time understanding your requirement. I actually do
> understand your requirements but don't think those are requirements on
WSDL
> itself. Whether a web service is stateful or stateless is a
characteristic
> of the web service. I don't clearly see the role of a description
language
> in that? Can you explain?
We seem to have a miscommunication and I don't know how to get through
it. In C, it is possible to refer to an integer like this:
int a;
or a pointer to an integer like this:
int *a;
In Java, it is roughly:
int a;
versus
Integer a;
(in Java, most types are by reference, not by value)
If it makes sense to define a type as integer then it makes just as much
sense to define it as *reference to integer*.
In all languages, pointers or references are the fundamental building
blocks of applications that are more complicated than toys. Resource
references are the most fundamental building block of the Web. Interface
references are the fundamental building blocks of COM and CORBA. If the
Web Services standards do not support it then they are fundamentally
weaker than any generalized network protocol standards in history.
Furthermore, if the web services system is to be tool-like and not
toy-like then web services will have to be a first class type so that
they can be composed.
Paul Prescod